Marriage Law : Disaster or Great Idea?
by catlynarya
Summary: Is a marriage law a great idea or a disaster waiting to happen?


A/N : I do not own Harry Potter or anything from that universe. This was written for The Houses Competition.

 **House :** Hufflepuff

 **Year :** Prefect 2 (stand in)

 **Category :** Theme

 **Prompt :** [Speech] "I can't marry him/her/them! He/She/They would kill me the first week!"

 **Word Count :** 3367

 **Marriage Law : Disaster or A Great Idea?**

All over the wizarding world, witches and wizards sat in different states of shock. Some held their heads in their hands. Some paced the room they were in. Some cried and screamed at the injustice. Some just sighed and went about their day as usual.

All of these witches and wizards had received the same letter by owl that morning.

 _Sir or Madam,_

 _We regret to inform you that a Marriage Law has been enacted to repopulate the wizarding world. All unmarried witches and wizards between the ages of seventeen and forty have been matched with a person within that age group. This match was made by potion in the Goblet of Fire and reviewed by a seer to be certain the match was true. You should meet with your match as soon as possible to begin the preparation for your marriage. Each couple has a specific date for their marriage ceremony. The venue will be of your choice. A ministry official has been assigned to officiate your ceremony._

 _A child must be conceived within the first year. Over the course of the marriage at least two children should be born. If you wish to have more children, please do. Just know that you must have at least two children during your marriage._

 _Your personal match will be sent by owl at a later time._

 _Regards,_

 _Harry J. Potter_

 _Minister of Magic_

Harry sat in his plush office at the Ministry and waited. He knew that there would be backlash from this law. No one would be happy with their match. Hell, he didn't even know who his match was to be. Yes, he was included in this law as well as everyone else. His Head of Magical Law was the one who finalized the plans for this law and got it passed through the appropriate channels.

Danielle Caspien, Dani for short, had been researching for months. She was the first one to notice that the population of the wizarding world had diminished by sixty-eight percent. She proposed enacting the marriage law and presented her findings to Harry and the Wizengamot the week before.

Resigned to the inevitable, Harry agreed to enact the law and force everyone to marry and have children. He knew that the match letters would be arriving shortly and then all hell would break loose. He would soon be inundated with Howlers and Floo calls.

Harry looked around at the portraits and paintings that adorned his office walls. He felt at home here. He thought about the black-haired, blue-eyed Dani in the office down the hall, waiting for all the Howlers she would receive. Everyone knew she would be the one who pushed this law through. He had always thought she was a beautiful woman and wondered what would have happened had she not turned down his invitation to dinner after they first met. Hell, he was already half in love with her now, but would probably have to put that out of his mind.

 _In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry stumbled into a beautiful, black-haired girl outside of the Potions classroom. She was exiting the room and he entering when they had collided. He reached to steady her only succeeding to knock her books out of her hand. They both scrambled around gathering her books and rolls of parchment. "How come you don't have a bag to hold all this?" he asked as he handed her the last quill._

" _Well, I did, but it seems to have disappeared. Thanks for the help," she said and began to walk away._

 _From that moment on, he couldn't get those piercing blue eyes out of his mind. When he closed his eyes, they were there, searching deep into his soul._

Hearing a tapping on his window made him sigh and turn to watch the owl fly through the window once he opened it. The brown barn owl landed softly on his desk and stretched out the leg holding the missive. Harry reached for the letter with hands that he hadn't realized were shaking.

The owl took flight out the window and left the wizard to read his match. This was it: the moment of truth. Who would his match be? Would it be someone he could grow to love? Drawing in a breath, he unrolled the small piece of parchment and read the name of his match. Slowly, a smile crept across his face, starting at his lips and ending with his eyes. He couldn't believe his luck. His match was….

* * *

Dani paced her office. She was worried about how this law would be received by the public. Oh, she knew that many would not be happy, but she also knew that given a chance most of those matches would find love with each other. She only hoped that her own match would come to love her in time. Secretly, she hoped that she had been matched with a certain dark-haired Minister of Magic, but she knew that wouldn't be possible. She would never get matched with him. On some level, she regretted not accepting his dinner invitation, but at the time, it had been the right decision.

 _Three years ago, Dani was promoted to the Head of the Magical Law office. She was very flattered that they thought she could handle the job. This also meant that she could work closer with Harry. Someone she had fallen immediately in love with during school after they collided in the doorway of the Potions classroom._

 _Every time she saw him, her heart would race and she would feel the flutter of butterflies in her stomach. Whenever they met for work, she just knew he noticed her staring at him. At night, when she was alone her in bed, she would see him when she closed her eyes._

 _One day, "Dani, go to dinner with me tonight," Harry said._

 _She shook her head, "I don't think that would be a good idea, Harry. We work together. What would people say?" she answered._

 _Harry laughed, "I don't care what people think or say. I only know how I feel, and I like you. A whole lot, and I want to show you."_

A tapping on her window brought her attention back to the present. She saw the tawny owl waiting to be let in and crossed the room to open the window. The owl landed on her shoulder and waited for her to retrieve the letter attached to his leg. She took it and watched the owl fly away after an affectionate nip of her finger. Slowly, she unrolled the slip of parchment that would reveal her fate. Reading the name there, she was stunned. This couldn't be true.

Witches and wizards all over the wizarding world were receiving their matches at that moment. Some were indifferent, but most were angry. How could the Ministry do this to them? This would only end in disaster for everyone involved.

Harry stopped at the door to her office, watching her unroll her slip of parchment that would reveal her match. She looked stunned and he hoped it was in a good way. Knocking softly, he watched her look up at him through the glass door. Smiling slightly, she motioned for him to come in, her heart racing inside her chest. Here was the moment of truth.

"I see you got your match," Harry said and immediately chided himself. ' _That was stupid. Can't you think of something clever to say?'_ he asked himself.

Dani nodded, "Yeah, I guess you got yours too, since you are here."

Suddenly, the door to her office flew open and a slim, sleek, brown-haired woman charged into the room. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, DANI?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD DO THIS!" the woman yelled.

"Hello, Hermione. Somehow I knew you would be the first one to my office when the matches were revealed," Dani said calmly, even though her heart was doing cartwheels inside her chest.

Hermione stopped her tirade and looked at the other woman. Her expression changed slightly, although her eyes still blazed with anger. "I can't marry him! He would kill me the first week!"

"Hermione, be reasonable. He won't kill you," Harry stated.

"Hermione, give it a chance. This match was made with the strongest potion ever made, along with the Goblet of Fire, and a seer. There is no way this match could be anything but great," Dani explained.

Hermione just shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. "Marriage is supposed to be about love. Forcing us all into this isn't love."

Dani stepped closer to her friend, "Hermione, give him a chance and you will have love. I just know it. This wasn't easy for me to push through. I knew what effect it would have on everyone, including myself. We are all worried about our match not loving us. We just have to be open to the chance to find love with them and it will happen."

"But… Draco Malfoy? Really? The Goblet and the seer matched me with him?" Hermione sniffled.

"Apparently so," Dani said and raised her head as she heard a sound at the door. Someone else was coming to voice their displeasure.

"HARRY! What are you doing in here? What are you thinking? Matching me with that witch!" a tall, lanky, ginger-haired man entered the room.

"Ron, it's not that bad," Harry said, trying to calm his friend down.

Ron stared at Harry wide-eyed, "Pansy Parkinson? Not that bad?"

Harry drew in a breath. "Well…" he began.

"Ron, the Goblet and the seer were very clear with the matches. The seer is ninety-eight percent sure that these matches will result in amazing families," Dani interjected. "You just need to give it a chance."

"But, Pansy? I can't marry her! She would kill me the first week! Hell, she'll kill me before we can even have the ceremony!" Ron yelled, his face turning red.

"Ronald Weasley, you calm down right now this instant!" a ginger-haired woman entered the office.

' _This is getting ridiculous. There are too many people in this room,'_ Dani thought to herself and began to wonder if she could slip out of the room.

"There is no way your match will be that bad. Dani and the Ministry have thought this through and used the best method they could to determine matches for everyone. You need to be meeting with Pansy, not here railing at Dani for things out of her control," the red-head stated.

"But Ginny, she'll kill me," Ron whined.

"No, she won't. She is not as bad as you make her out to be. Now go tell Mum and Dad who your match is and make a meeting with her," Ginny Weasley told her brother. Turning on Hermione, "As for you, well, who did you get matched with?"

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione whispered.

"Hmmm… a tougher case there. Although, he did move out of that manor and has pretty much written off his father. Why not go see him and see for yourself why the Goblet matched you," Ginny suggested.

Hermione nodded and sniffled. "Oh, Harry, what are you doing in here? You're the Minister of Magic, surely they didn't include you in this farce," she stated to her best friend.

Harry dipped his head a little, "Actually, yes, I am included in the law. I fall in the age range and am unmarried. I was in here to meet with my intended, but you all showed up and I haven't gotten to speak with her yet."

Dani blushed a bright red as all eyes turned on her. "Well, now, there is a perfect match. You've been in love with him forever and have been too afraid to tell him," Ginny said. She had no qualms about saying whatever was on her mind at the moment.

Dani blushed even more, "Ginny!"

Ginny shrugged, "What? It's the truth."

"Well, you didn't have to just announce it like that. Maybe he doesn't want to be with me and came here to ask me for a different match," Dani said, trying to calm the blush staining her cheeks.

"Not bloody likely," Harry said, surprised when everyone looked at him. ' _Damn, I must have said that out loud.'_ "Well, before everything gets completely out of hand, Dani, will you go to dinner with me tonight to discuss our marriage plans?"

Dani nodded, "Sure, Harry. I suppose we do need to talk about things."

Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione, "See how easy that was? Just go talk to your match and let everything fall into place." Turning back to Harry and Dani, "Thank you for my match by the way. Blaise Zabini is a knockout." She then turned on her heel and walked toward the door.

Harry's laugh caused her to stop and turn back to him. "Everyone knows that you have been in love with him for years. Nothing new there," Harry said.

Ginny shrugged, "Well, at least I know what I am getting when we get married." She then turned and left the room.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and quietly left the room to go meet with their future spouse, resigned to the fact that nothing they say could change this law.

Dani frowned, her friends were hurting because of this. She only hoped that she was right and they would find love with the person they were to marry. Turning back to her desk, she smacked into Harry's broad chest. "Oh, sorry, I thought you had left," she said softly.

"No, still here. I wanted to let you know that you don't need to worry about us. We will be just fine. I will come get you at six for dinner," he brushed his lips on her cheek and left her office.

Dani automatically put her hand up to her cheek to try to keep the tingling sensation there as long as she could. She really needed to calm her racing heart. She had been in love with Harry for so long that she couldn't remember what it felt like to not be. Turning to her desk, she sat down and began to work on some paperwork that had piled up over the past few days.

Harry bounced happily down the corridor to his own office, feeling as if he was walking in the clouds. Oh, yes, this would be a great day.

* * *

At the same time across town, Draco sighed once he read his match. ' _Well, at least she will be the one to kill me,'_ he thought to himself. Standing, he made his way to the kitchenette in his flat. Making himself a sandwich, he sat down and chewed thoughtfully.

"Granger," he said to the empty room. "I have to marry Granger and have a family with her."

"Could be worse. You could be stuck with a Weasley," he heard a female voice say.

"Hello, Pansy," Draco said to his friend as she stepped out of his Floo.

"Draco, how could they do this to us? They matched me with Ron Weasley! It's preposterous," she exclaimed.

Draco shrugged, he wasn't really surprised with their matches. "Nothing can be done about it, Pansy. We have to do what the Ministry tells us to do."

"I know, it just isn't fair," she said as she reached for the other half of his sandwich. They lapsed into a companionable silence as they thought of what was to come.

Soon, a knock was heard on the door to the small flat. Draco rose and crossed the room in three long strides. Opening the door, he found Hermione standing there, looking up at him anxiously.

Stepping aside, he motioned for her to come in. He heard the Floo roar to life and knew that Pansy had made a quick exit to allow him time with his intended. Closing the door, he followed her to the sofa.

"Please have a seat," he said. "Or would you rather just get it over with and Avada me right now?"

Hermione jerked to a sudden stop and turned to him, causing him to almost crash into her. "I will not Avada you. I might strangle you, but not Avada," she said.

"Then shall we talk about this?" Draco asked.

She nodded, "I suppose we should. It's a law and there's not any way out of it. We have to get married and have kids."

Draco nodded, "I know." Standing, he began to pace, "I also know that you don't want to be saddled with a broken down ex-Death Eater. I've done some awful things to you and I would completely understand if you wanted to kill me now and put me out of my misery."

Hermione sat, mouth agape, watching him. After a few moments of silence, "Yes, you may have done some awful things, but you have atoned for them. You are a different person now and I think we can make something of this marriage if you want to take a chance," she said.

Draco stopped pacing and looked at her, "I'd like a chance to prove that I am not a monster. I would like a chance to learn to love someone other than myself."

Hermione stood and placed a hand on his arm, "Well, let's have dinner and we can start that chance." He smiled at her and nodded.

* * *

Pansy arrived in her flat to a banging on the door. Crossing the room, she flung the door open, ready to blast whoever had been banging on it. She stopped short when she saw Ron Weasley standing there.

"Just go ahead and get it over with. We won't have to plan anything and they can match you with someone else," he stated, his head hanging low.

Pansy pondered him for a moment, then grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. He lost his balance and they landed in a heap on the floor, his body covering hers. She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face closer to hers and planted her lips on his.

Wide-eyed, Ron was completely surprised by the feel of her lips on his. He recovered quickly and took over the kiss, angling his lips to better fit hers. After several long moments, he pulled back to gasp for air. "Well, that was unexpected. I guess you want to give this a chance, then?"

Pansy laughed, "Men are so dense. Yes, I am willing if you are."

* * *

At 6pm on the dot, Harry arrived at Dani's office to whisk her off to dinner. He had called in a favor and gotten a reservation at a very elegant restaurant on the other side of town. Whistling a little, he knocked on her office door. Slowly, she raised her head and waved him in. The smile she had earlier was gone and tears were flowing down her cheeks.

Quickly, Harry made his way to her side. "What's wrong?" he asked, wiping away some of her tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"You wouldn't believe the Howlers I've been getting today, Harry. Some of them are completely insane. There are threats. People want to hurt me because I enacted this law," she said as fresh tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now," he said and gathered her in his arms. "Everything will be okay once they all meet with their match and talk things over. Hermione and Ron have both reported positive results of their meetings." He rocked her gently as he continued to speak softly. "Look at us. We are fine with this match. Ginny is fine with her match. No one is going to hurt you. Not while I am still breathing," he continued.

Raising her head from his chest, she looked into his eyes, "You are too good for me, Harry," she said and leaned up to place her lips on his. Sighing as she felt his arms tighten around her, she whispered against his lips, "I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled into the kiss, "I love you, Dani. I have for a very long time."


End file.
